Commentaries, Commentary on Judges · Chapter 9 · Verses 51-57
51 But there was a ſtrong tower within the citye, and thither fled all the men and wemen, and all the chief of the city, and ſhutte it to them, and went vp to the top of the towre.
52 And Abimelech came vntounto the towre, and fought againſt it. And went hard vntounto the doore of the towre to ſet it on fire.
53 Then a woman caſte a piece of a milſtone vponupon Abimeleches heade, and brake his ſkull.
54 Who ſtreightwaye called his page that bare his armoure, and ſaid vntounto him: Draw thy ſword and ſlay me, leſt men peraduenture ſay of me: A woman ſlew him. And his page thruſt him thorow and he died.
55 And when the men of Iſraell ſaw that Abimelech was deade, they departed eueryevery man to his owne place.
56 Thus God rendred the euill of Abimelech, whiche he did vntounto his father, in ſlayinge his brethern.
57 Alſo all the wickednes of the men of Sechem did god bring vponupon theyr heads, and vponupon them came the curſe of Iotham the ſonne of Ierubbaall.
The menne of Thebez cloſed and ſenſed the outwarde partes of the Tower verye well: And kepte themſelues within, hauinge all the gates and entrances ſhut vp.
They aſcended vponupon the toppe. This Hebrewe woorde Gag ſygnifieth the toppe of the houſe, not ſharpe poynted, but playne, for vponupon it they might walke. And bycauſe it was dangerous, leaſte a manne ſhoulde fall from the toppe, it was commaunded in Deutronomye, that a cyrcuite or a ſtay ſhould be added to the roofe of the houſes.
To burne the gate. Bycauſe he hadde ſo good ſucceſſe before to conquere by fyre, he thoughte now alſo to had the like fortune.
A woman threwe a ſtone. Abimeleche puffed vppe with victories, ſetteth an example before oure eyes, that wee ſhoulde not to muche put confidence in preſente felicity. By his luckye ſucceſſe he thoughte his cauſe was good, and that they whome he had deſtroyed, had theyr rewarde for theyr wickednes. Such is the iudgemente of menne, they thinke that accordinge to the wayghte of the puniſhments, ſo are the ſinnes of the afflicted, and theyr euil deſerts, ſo that they whych are greuouſly vexed, ſeeme to hauehave greiuouſly ſinned. And vndoubtedly the booke of Iob is all whole in a manner of that argumente. For his friendes did therefore gather that he was an euill man,The argumēt of the booke of Iob. bicauſe he was ſo grieuouſlye afflicted. But yet oughte wee not ſo to thincke: For there maye be other cauſes why GOD wil hauehave the ſayntes oppreſſed in this world. Chriſt teacheth vsus in the 13. chapter of Luke (when certayne tolde him, that Pilate hadde mingled the bloud of ye Galileians wt ſacrifices, & they loked that Chriſt ſhould hauehave cried out vponupon the crueltye of the Preſident) howe wee oughte to take profite by the puniſhments of other men.We ought to take perfect by the puniſhmēts of other. For he aunſwered: do you thinke that thoſe Galileians ſinned aboue all the reaſt, bicauſe they ſuffred theſe thinges? No verilye, I tell you, but excepte ye repente, ye ſhall all likewiſe periſhe. Or thinke ye that thoſe 18, vponupon whome the Tower in Siloi fell, were ſinners aboue all men that dwel in Ieruſalem? No verely, I tell you, but excepte ye repente, ye ſhall all lykewiſe periſhe.
Abimelech alſo ſhoulde rather thus hauehave ſayd wyth himſelf: If theſe things hauehave chaunſed vntounto them, what ſhall then happen vntounto me? Let vsus alſo ſpeake thus with our ſelues. If by the Turkes and Saracenes ſo grieuous thinges hauehave happened vntounto the Grecians, Hungarians, and Africanes, what ſhall then become of vsus at the length? Excepte we repente, wee ſhall lykewyſe peryſhe.
The names of two milſtones.A peece of a milſtone. Thys Hebrewe woord Rachab ſignifieth a milſtone. But there ar two milſtones, namely that that is aboue, and that that is beneath. The higher is he, which is called Rachab, bicauſe it is put vpō the other, and after a ſort rideth vponupon it. The other is called Schachab, bycauſe it ſemeth to lye ſtill. By what meanes the woman hadde a peece of a mylſtone in the vpper parte of the houſe, it appeareth not. Howebeit it is verye likelye, that they caryed vppe ſtones, and greate heauye peeces of rockes into the vpper partes of the houſes, to hauehave them in a redineſſe to beate backe the enemy.
And hys page thruſte him thorowe, and he died. This is the ende of a moſt cruel tiranne. He is killed of a woman, and when he ſaw that he muſt nedes dye, he ſtudieth to put away the infamye, neyther would he hauehave it ſayd of him, that a woman ſlew him. What madnes is thys? He is at the poynt of death and he vaynelye thinketh vponupon glorye: He thinketh it a reproche to be killed of a woman, and is nothinge carefull for the ſoule, nor for the other life: he onelye careth for his name and fame. And god when he hadde vſed thys mannes cruelty to afflicte the Sechemites, at the laſte deſtroyed him alſo. He entred in by euell artes: He raygned cruellye and tyrannouſlye, and died moſte filthylye. And when Abimelech was dead, eueryevery man returned into his country. Neither was the tower which he aſſaulted, conquered. And leaſt any man ſhould thinke that theſe thinges happened by chaunce, but that all menne myghte vnderſtande that they were doone by the prouidence and counſell of god, the cō cluſion is added: Thus God rewarded. Herebye we are very well taught, that if at anye time the like thinges doo happen, wee muſte not attribute them to fortune, but onelyonly vntounto the prouidence of God. Achab the kinge when he went on warfare, chaunged his apparell, and woulde not be knowen to be the kinge, but be counted a raſchall ſouldiour: yet was he ſlayne wyth an arrowe, whiche was ſhut at auenture, whiche thinge myghte hauehave ſeemed to hauehave bene done by chaunce, when as yet God in very deede gouerned the ſhafte. And in like manner as Plutarch telleth, Pirrhus was ſlayne of a moman in beſieging of Thebez, Plutarch.ſhe throwing downe a tyle from the houſe toppe. Verye many ſuche thinges are doone in oure time, whiche ſeeme vntounto vsus therfore to hauehave happened by chaunce, bycauſe wee knowe not the cauſes of thynges, and iudgementes of God.
Moreouer by thys concluſion thys we profitablye gather, that GOD at the length reuoketh all thynges to hys tribunall ſeate and iudgemente. If wee ſhoulde demaunde, why the Sechemites were ſo myſerablye afflycted, and why Abimeleche was ſo fylthylye ſlayne? The holye Ghoſte aunſweareth, God reuenged the ingratitude of the Sechemites toward Gideon, and the Parricide of Abimeleche, who ſlewe his bretherne. For the bloode of ſo manye bretherne cryed no leſſe vntounto the Lorde, then the bloode of Abel, as is written in Geneſis. Laſtlye let vsus note, that there are hitherto ſome good Iudges ſpoken of, among whome is put Abimeleche, a moſte cruell tyranne, that theyr vertue by a compariſon, or an Antitheſis myghte be made more noble. But happye was that publyke wealthe whyche amonge manye good, had onelye one tyranne, but we amongeſt manye euell, hauehave ſcarce one good Prince. And vndoubtedlye God gaue not vntounto the Iſraelites thys tyranne, neyther rayſed he hym vp after the manner of the other Iudges: but they elected him themſelues.